Sick of the Love Island aesthetic

[Raspberryclouds]

Don't know what else to call it, and don't want to name names or post pictures of people as that's unfair but it's everywhere and makes me feel inadequate.
They've all got a tan, gleaming white teeth, microbladed eyebrows, mermaid hair (they never have short hair like me!)
Plump lips, false eyelashes, freckles, perfect cheekbones and perfect figures, flawless skin. Oh and all have these perfect tiny noses whereas mine is wide.
I know a lot of it is Instagram/filters but most of them look the same in reality.

I feel like some sort of potato in comparison because it seems that this is what's considered attractive. I live in Manchester city centre and there are ten a penny slim, statuesque stunning women with long flowing hair going on a night out.
I didn't think I was awful, but just feel so basic and unremarkable.
I can't afford to get consistent beauty treatments, eyelashes are expensive, I put a fake tan on myself but can't afford constant spray tans, constant teeth whitening and so on.
I need to learn to be happier with what I've got, but just feel so dull, does anyone else feel like this.

And, in real life, those lips look awful. 10 a penny on the tube journey. Funny as hell 😆😆😆

“Feminine interests” 🤦‍♀️FML

This is how people normalise it. Please don't give it a name.

It's a fashion and will pass. The upcoming generation will associate that look with 'older women' and will react against it, most likely with a return to a natural look. We will look back on people with that look as we now look back on other fashion trends - 'did people in the 80s really think a mullet was a good hairstyle?' will become 'did people really think slug eyebrows and clown lips looked nice?'

And, in real life, those lips look awful.

It's the Donald Duck side profile that gets me. I also don't understand shaving off your eyebrows and drawing them back in the wrong place, like two lost seagulls.

At least now beauty ideals aren’t all essentially achieved through eating disorders or drug abuse, that makes me feel better myself

The mullet is back! (If you’re in Hackney)

You make some good points here, @Sailingaround. One big one being that it has never crossed my mind to watch Love Island, so I have no idea how the people on it actually come across when you see them on TV!

But as for the "feminine interests" comment... spoken like a true transwoman.

1offnamechange

You can't split women into 'clever but dowdy' and 'thick but highly made up' and, tbh, I can't see why any self respecting feminist would want to? Isn't that kind of thinking about 100 years out of date?

"dowdy vs highly made up" is a false dichotomy.

My pov is pretty much a feminist one: women come in all shapes, sizes and appearances, and young girls are being peddled largely one version of "femaleness" - and it's the tiny waist, huge boobs, huge bum, botox, painted-on eyebrows, trout pout version. (This then also becomes the idea of femaleness which men also end up subscribing to, either because they expect their girlfriends to look like porn stars, or because they decide that they want to "become women" - based on a completely unreal notion of what being a woman actually means).

Glasgow too. Has been fir some time. DS18 had one last year - hevsays it's passe now. DS16 has recentky got one 🙈

I'm right behind that POV. I work with teenagers and see it in action all the time. Many of the boys lust after the LI contestants/ influencers and the girls want to be them. It's very sad.

Saw a study last week that showed that botox stops the botoxed person understanding the body language and social cues of others.
As well as affecting the face it affects the brain structure eventually.
They mentioned Parkinsons disease and Dementia possibly being the result

I haven't had botox but this sounds like a load of bollocks.

Meh. The Love Island aesthetic is going to attract a Love Island mentality though, isn't it? In friendships, partners etc. Personally, I enjoy looking at naturally beautiful people more that "very heavily edited" people. I'd never get tired of looking at Rachel Weisz's face, for example.

I don't think this is the case with lots of teenagers where we live. My DS is 16 and the girls he hangs around with are natural looking, thin but quite relaxed clothes. My DH has young cousins in their early 20s and they have hairy legs with skirts and DMs.

I was a teenager late 90s and early 20s in the 00s and although didn't wear make up unless a festival or maybe going out, we (friends and I) were all well aware of being thin to very thin. That said, I think LI is all about the looks and being obviously vain so it is embarrassing in that sense and I'm not sure how healthy that is for the women and men that go on the show.

I know exactly how you feel. I thought the same after watching The Apprentice. It’s like The Stepford Wives!! Long hair with loose curls, lips plumped, false eyelashes, whitened teeth and slug eyebrows!!! It gives an awful message to young impressionable girls. I went for a boudoir photo shoot in November and as a result have some stunning photos of myself ( and I’m by no way photogenic). If I feel low I look at these and it proves anyone can look good but natural too with the right tools.

I don't think beautiful long hair, clear skin, regular features, fabulous figures and long eyelashes will ever go 'out of fashion'. They have after all been synonymous with female beauty for centuries. Silhouettes may change, tans go in and out of style, and over plumped lips and eyebrow styles are fads, but the other things have always been desirable.
The difference these days is that they're also accessible if you throw some time and money at it. So, rather than a night out where all but a minority of women were rather ordinary, as nature intended, beauty is now in reach of the masses, which leads to women who don't buy in feeling plain by comparison.
But ultimately it is a choice. There is nothing to stop you prioritising your spending on tans, extensions and the gym if you want to. Most women who do this aren't wealthy either.

Wa-hey! Those photos of me from 1985 will once again be on trend😁

Slug eyebrows, and shadow moustaches as a result of lip-plumping. What's not to like?

I have to admit I have had Botox twice and loved it. I’ve also had fake eye lashes twice. Also loved it. Both were for a special occasion.

However regardless of it you like it or not I genuinely don’t understand how people afford it. I paid £300 a pop for Botox (lasts a few months?) and £75 for lashes (lasts a month). Genuinely how do people afford it.

I won’t be getting Botox or lashes again due to the cost.

Thats expensive for botox @EssexMamisoa unless you had several areas done. My 11s cost me £90 every 8 months or so, from a doctor (Midlands). I'm not wealthy, but I prefer to spend what money I have on my face and hair which i 'wear' every day, and economise on clothes and assessories.

I have to admit I didn’t go to the cheapest place as I was nervous. But I’m in Essex so expect Botox carries a premium here 🤣it was also 2 areas

Yes, it's really not worth going for the cheapest. I picked mine because she's a 'proper' doctor, and was pleasantly surprised at the price. I only ever have 11s. I'd like crows feet but I'm too nervous for that!

Search pinterest, insta, reddit, google images for women who look like you or have a style that inspires you that you could more readily attain. Many looks are celebrated in reality. Mainstream is the mainstream and has a narrow focus, always been that way.

For what it's worth, I'm bi and not attracted to the Love Island look one bit. I know that's sort of irrelevant, but just know it's really not accurate to say that most people put made-up women on a pedestal. Not my idea of a beautiful woman and I'm not alone in thinking that. If anything, the look is mocked country-wide.

If it really starts messing with your head, and you want to and are able to, consider moving out of Manchester?

Gosh you’re tempting me to look again which probably wasn’t the point of this thred 🤣🤣🤣 with Botox I am convinced more people get it than we’d realise as a lot would never fess up, and a small amount isn’t obvious

They look fake as fuck.
I'd honestly NEVER want to look like that.